INSTRUCTIONAL SITE PROJECT REPORT BY: MAE GUERRA

Purpose The purpose or instructional need is for students to learn about the circulatory system and health related diseases. They need to know the anatomy of the circulatory system, how it works and how other systems in their bodies depend on each other for survival. Students need to know the cardiovascular system in order to fully understand other systems within their bodies. They also need to know how to take care of their bodies to prevent health related diseases. It is important to address this instructional need because it is required that all students gain proficiency in the Texas Model Content Standards for Science. In this proposal I am seeking to address:

STANDARD 3 Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with each other and their environment. (Focus: Biology) My instructional web site will cover the following areas of the circulatory system: the heart, blood, veins and arteries. The web site will contain lessons, online quizzes, tutorials, and games. Students will receive individual lessons over each area of the circulatory system and then complete assignments over each lesson online. Audience Analysis Learner Objectives: 1. Given the instructional web site resources, students will be able to describe

the circulatory system and its functions. 2. Given an animated diagram of how the heart transports blood, students will

be able to describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart. 3. Given a group project and instructional material over the circulatory system,

students will be able to identify and describe the three types of blood vessels. 4. Given instructional material over blood, students will be able to define what

blood is and describe the function of the different parts of blood. 5. Given an online game over how oxygen is transported and utilized in the

body, students will be able to describe what happens to blood as it circulates. 6. Given a lab where students determine if the pulse rate is the same for boys

and girls, students will be able to recognize that when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same way. From this lab, students will also be able to and compare knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge gained indirectly.

The learners will be able to do the following at the end of the lessons:

Describe the circulatory system and its functions. Describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart. Name and describe the three kinds of blood vessels. Define what blood is and describe the different parts of blood. Describe what happens to blood as it circulates. Identify types of heart disease and their causes.

Results: Texas Content Standards 1. STANDARD 3 – Life Science In grades K-4, what students know and are able to do includes • describing human body systems (for example, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, skeletal, muscular) 2. As students in grades 5-8 extend their knowledge, what they know and are able to do includes • describing the structures and functions of human body systems; and • describing and giving examples of non-communicable diseases and communicable diseases (for example, heart disease and chicken pox).

2. STANDARD 6 Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and understand common connections among scientific disciplines. In grades K-4, what students know and are able to do includes • recognizing that when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same way; • comparing knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge gained indirectly (for example, collecting data about student heights in their class and comparing the results to similar data collected in another class or school) Indicators 1. Students will investigate the circulatory system through these links on my web site: http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/cir1.htm http://www.imcpl.org/kids/guides/health/circulatorysystem.html http://vilenski.org/science/humanbody/hb_html/circ_system.html After investigating the web site, students will describe the circulatory system and define its parts (veins and arteries) on a short quiz. 2. Students will participate in a group activity and create a presentation about the circulatory system. They will use this link on my web site to guide them through this project: http://sciencespot.net/Media/hlthhumbdyquest.pdf 3. Students will participate in a lab where they determine if the pulse rate is the same for boys and girls. Found on page 11 http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/lc/pdf/lc4w.pdf

4. Students will investigate the human heart and blood and identify its function through these links on my web site: http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/cir3.htm http://www.heartpoint.com/theheart.html After investigating the web sites, students will be able to draw and label parts of the heart on a diagram and describe its function on a written test. 5. Students play a game called, Sail the Circulatory System http://www.toxrap.org/36_kids_game1intro.html When students finish playing the game they will take a written test and describe how oxygen is transported and utilized in the body. Design Decision Making Major topics that need to be included in the instruction: Parts of the Circulatory System

1. Blood 2. Heart 3. Veins and Arteries

Jobs of the Circulatory System

1. transports food and oxygen 2. transports wastes 3. protection 4. transports hormones 5. temperature regulation

Parts of the Heart 1. atrium 2. ventricle 3. septum 4. valve

Blood Vessels

1. artery 2. vein 3. capillary 4. aorta

Different parts of the Blood

1. White Blood Cells 2. Red Blood Cells 3. Platelets 4. Plasma

Heart Disease

1. artherosclerosis 2. coronary artery 3. heart attack

Navigation Mechanisms

The navigation needs to be user friendly for my 7th graders. I want my learners to have the freedom to go back and forth between sessions but I also want to guide my learners through the course along a specific path along the navigation system. In order to reach both needs I will have elements of both sparse and rich navigation.

Menu –On the menu I will be providing a constantly displayed menu to help users navigate the site. The users will always see how the course is organized and they can jump from one activity to another. I will be using a left margin constant menu that displays all the topics and can be expanded to show sub topics. The menu will provide complete freedom to move from topic to topic. I will have another menu bar of buttons on top going left to right for general topics such as a help box, grades, contact info, posting questions and an assignment drop box. Hypertext links – The Glossary entries will have hyperlinks. Location Indicators – I will have visual icons on the assignment pages where students may click on the button to read about the activity and learn about the current topic. The learners will need an easy to understand interface. English Language Learners will need these visual icons to help guide them through certain assignments. Glossary – The Glossary entries will have hyperlinks to the sections of the course that relate to the entries. In this way, it will be both an index and a glossary. There will be a glossary link available all the time in the upper left. Paging - The paging will not span more than one page. Lessons will be designed for minimal paging.

2. Common Instructional Values Learner-Centered - The design of this web page is user friendly. The web page will have a friendly graphical interface. Visual icons will represent each activity which will be useful for English Language Learners within the classroom. Social – The web site will allow students to communicate with each other through the chat feature. Contextual - Each topic of the circulatory system will be discussed meeting the Colorado State Standards in Science. Active – Students will be actively engaged in each of the assignments using current technology and by using interactive games. Supportive – This will be a supportive course in which students may ask direct questions at anytime in class or they send an e-mail regarding questions they have. There will also be a chat feature that will allow students to discuss group work projects they have to complete. The students are encouraged to work in these group work projects so that it could help foster their understanding of the material.

3. CARP Since this course is about The Circulatory System I chose a basic red color scheme that correlates with the theme of blood. I would like the site to be interesting and exciting for my students. Contrast - I like the black menu on the left side with the contrasting white letters. This makes the menu more visible for the users. The top buttons are also black with white lettering. I feel like this separates the menu and buttons from the rest of the page so it is stands out to the user. Alignment -The left menu is vertically aligned and the top buttons are horizontally aligned. I feel that this alignment is user friendly and easy to understand. Repetition - The same color scheme, menu and buttons are used throughout this prototype. Proximity - The general topics such as grades, email and chat are grouped together on the top in the form of buttons. The course content is grouped together along the left menu. All pages are consistent throughout providing a very user friendly site. 4. Typography – The typography is a Georgia font. To create a little bit of contrast I am using a sans serif typeface (Verdana) for titles, subtitles and menus which was created specifically for computer screens. For contrast I am using bold, underline and larger size for titles, subtitles and menus. The rest of the text will be normal George font.

5. Visuals/Graphics – Within this web page, I am going to use little graphics. There will be the first image on the home page and the others are going to be spread evenly across the site to gain attention to specific parts of the content taught. Currently, I am going to add an image to each unit in this course. Instructional Graphics

1. Representational – The heart diagram will help students identify and label parts of the heart.

2. Decorative - These graphics will be used to excite and get the students attention.

3. Functional – (buttons) Buttons will help the student navigate throughout the site.

Evaluation Plan

To determine whether:

the objectives are clear and appropriate

the navigation is helpful to participants

the content is laid out appropriately

participants identified the resources available

2. Resources and Constraints

The formative evaluation will cost nothing except time.

The revisers would like the project to be an effective teaching tool

Resources that will be used are: students, parents, and teachers 3. Task Analysis Participants will be able to do the following proficiently: Objective #1: The Role of the Circulatory System – 1.Given the instructional web site resources, students will be able to describe the circulatory system and its functions. 2. Given an animated diagram of how the heart transports blood, students will be able to describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart. In this unit the participant will be able to:

Describe the circulatory system and its functions Describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart Identify parts of the heart and explain its function

Objective #2: Veins, Arteries, and Capillaries - Given a group project and instructional material over the circulatory system, students will be able to identify and describe the three types of blood vessels. In this unit the participant will be able to:

Name and describe the three kinds of blood vessels Explain how blood vessels help transport blood throughout the

body

Objective #3: The Heart, Blood, and its Components – 1. Given instructional material over blood, students will be able to define what blood is and describe the function of the different parts of blood. 2. Given an online game over how oxygen is transported and utilized in the body, students will be able to describe what happens to blood as it circulates. In this unit the participant will be able to:

Define what blood is and describe the different parts of blood Describe what happens to blood as it circulates

Objective #4: Wellness and Disease – 1. Given instructional material over heart health, wellness, and disease, the participant will be able to define wellness and the types of heart disease and their causes. 2. Given a lab where students determine if the pulse rate is the same for boys and girls, students will be able to recognize that when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same way. From this lab, students will also

be able to and compare knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge gained indirectly. In this unit, the participant will be able to:

Identify types of heart disease and their causes Define pulse rate and blood pressure Share the knowledge gained from a science experiment that

compared pulse rates between boys and girls 4. Learning Environment

The learners will use classroom based methods of learning in which cooperative group learning is encouraged.

The learning environment for each participant will take place within the classroom, the school computer lab, and at the participant’s home with their own computers.

The participants will be students who take this course as part of the science curriculum. Participants will work from home using their home computer or by gaining access to a library computer.

5. Media Characteristics The majority of this course is held on-line with some traditional classroom lecture. Media Characteristics includes: computer games, animated diagrams, and content related resources. 6. Questions to be answered

Is the Web site easy to access and navigate?

Is the content effective in achieving desired objectives? Are the objectives being covered adequately?

Are the activities engaging for the students? Are there any more games, simulations, and animations that could be added that will make the instruction more engaging?

Is the instruction self-paced?

Are there any more graphics I could add that would make the instruction more interesting?

7. Parts of instruction to be evaluated

Is the site user-friendly?

Can participants, parents, and teachers access this site easily?

Are the objectives clearly defined?

Is the overall appearance of the site conducive to learning? 9. Data gathering tools and methods

Stage 1 – The data gathering tools will be to receive constructive feedback through a classroom discussion at the end of the first week. I will record all the feedback including: constructive criticism, comments, advice, and suggestions. Stage 2 - I will construct an on-line survey on the web site. On the survey, participants will be asked to rate the user-friendliness of the site. Stage 3 - 7th grade teachers from my school will evaluate the site for instructional effectiveness. The teachers will grade the site on the content covered, standards addressed, and assessment tools. They will also be asked if they have any suggestions for teaching the content covered. All feedback will then be recorded and addressed. Stage 4 – The gathering tool for this last stage is a formal evaluation of the class and instructor. This evaluation consists of a hand-written questionnaire that all parents, teachers, and students must complete. The feedback received from this last evaluation will drive the changes needed for a more effective instructional web site.

Future Plans Reports of evaluation I would like to create a single report that documents all observations, feedback, and revisions that need to be made. I will use this report to drive the changes needed to create an effective on-line teaching tool. The changes will also guide the project’s further development in this web site. In conjunction with this document I will create another report that explains the lessons learned from this Formative Evaluation process.